By Emma Ogbuehi
Barely six months after an elaborate celebration of his 80th birthday, legendary singer and guitarist, Sir Victor Uwaifo is dead. Details of his passage are scanty but our reporter learnt that he died after a brief illness.
His demise, coming on the heels of the death of Veteran actor Victor Olaotan, has further cast an atmosphere of gloom to Nigeria’s entertainment industry.
While alive, Uwaifo blazed many trails that put him ahead of his peers. Aside topping the music charts with such hit songs as (Joromi) released in 1965, Guitar Boy, Arabade, Ekassa, and other household tunes, he also recorded great feats in academic and bureaucracy; accomplishments that made him the first Nigerian musician to be accorded the national merit award of Member of the Order of the Niger in 1983.
Uwaifo, who had a total of 12 golden records, travelled to many countries including the United States, Russia, Japan, United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Romania, Germany, France, Hungary, Rome, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, Benin Republic, Spain, and Canada.
He was recognized as the most educated performing music legend, musical instrument inventor, and artist worldwide with a B.A Honors (first class valedictorian), Master’s degree and Ph.D in Architectural Sculpture ((Thesis: A reinvention of Benin Royal Ancestral Pieces, University of Benin, Nigeria).
Uwaifo was also appointed as the Honorable Commissioner for Arts, Culture and Tourism and Member of the State Executive Council, the highest policy-making decision body in Edo State from 2001–2003.
He was born on March 1, 1941
